The alternate universe Fringe Division investigates a shocking breach of security when a twin frees his brother (guest stars Shawn and Aaron Ashmore) from a quarantined Amber area. As the team sets out to crack this sophisticated case, Walternate (John Noble) experiments more with Olivia (Anna Torv) as she reenters the tank. Meanwhile, visions of Peter continue to haunt Olivia about returning to the “other side.”

Me too, I literally squeaked when head!Peter mentioned her birthday, and clapped when we heard her voice it was soooooooo sweet to me.

I’m one of those people who care more about seeing friendship/family relationships in shows explored more than romantic ones, people seem to ignore the family/friend relationship stories too much in TV shows these days.

Yea I thought the same thing. I immediately felt that Walternate knew she lied and I also thought it was out of character for Olivia to make up such a weak sounding lie instead of just saying she crossed over momentarily like she did last time.

Little Ella! Such an adorable little person is hard to forget and the discrepancy of having her in one universe and never existing in the other sure came in handy. Now the real fun begins of seeing our Olivia deceive the alternate Fringe division (and how she will continue to help them in their cases and possibly empathize with their situation).

So – if that had been Altliv she would have turned Matthew Rose in for a life of testing after being trapped *alive* for 4 years? I’m not her biggest fan – but, that seems pretty harsh (at least with shooting the deaf man – she had the ‘excuse’ of being a soldier on a mission…” Ourliv just cannot abide by protocol.

I don’t know if AltLiv would necessarily have gone through with it after seeing the kid (can we really know that?), but I think going to the house and getting the proof with the initial plan to turn him in might have been out of the drive to prove herself right once and for all (and not crazy) and to “win” which seems to be very important to her.

You are probably right – especially about the winning – i was just jarred by the triumph? when she revealed the DNA patch-reader whatever thing. Ourliv is such a sympathetic character and her portrayal of Altliv is also so much more sympathetic than (her Other portrayal of the) ‘real’ Altliv in ‘Our UNiverse’. And she did “win” – she proved herself right, even if she can’t tell anyone about it. That scene actually made me like her less than anything else she has done.

Although our Liv has Al-olivia’s memories, she doesn’t have Alt’s attitude and instincts – this drive to win is Faux-livia’s. But, I do agree that she might have wanted to prove to herself that she is not crazy. In addition, it is a total Olivia thing to pursue things to conclusion.

I agree with that – but, except for trying to be loyal to his brother – Matthew Rose was an innocent victim – trapped conscious in Amber, declared legally dead – I don’t think there is anything about that that Ourliv would ‘triumph’ in. and that is how i saw that scene. ‘course, i’m going to re-watch it tomorrow…

Ah, but therein you hit upon the question: are our behaviors a result of our memories and experiences or are they innate? Because if it’s the former, and I’m curious as to which argument the writers are using for the sake of the show, then Our Livia, with Alt-Livia’s memories, will have her “instincts” as well. But if it’s the latter, then it’s definitely a way of showing the strength of Our Olivia’s mind.

Wasn’t that a fantastic detail? It’s almost as if the note he left behind for our Walter (to cross the line) was to cause our Walter to become more like Walternate as Bell would know just how driven Walternate would be in this conflict and that Walter cannot hold back out of fear. There’s that unique perspective from having lived in two worlds with two Walters.

Also, I am intrigued as to whether Liv’s ability to hear the bomb before it went off had anything to do with her special spidy senses as seen in 2.02? She had super hearing.

I wondered about that too, although AltLiv displayed pretty keen hearing too in episode 3.02, with the train. Maybe it’s part of their genetic makeup. However, that did seem extraordinary. I ran back to that part twice and couldn’t hear anything. If it was Liv’s supersonic hearing, it picked a good time to return! That’s three times now that she’s almost been killed on alt-Fringe team cases.

Yes – the two scenes (the train and the bomb) were very reminiscent of each other – i guess you could say they mirrored each other. I also thought of the post-crossing over super hearing from season 2 – but, i’m not sure how that fits in with these two.

Wow. This season’s alt-verse “villains” have been so memorable, and this weeks’ twosome was one of the best of the series. I was so sad at the end, watching Bank Robber Brother stay in the amber, knowing what would happen to him, as pennance for his twin’s suffering.
To me, finding out that Walternate knows that amber equals not death (as the public assumes) but a suspended animation which leaves the victim in an endless loop of their “last moments” – that shows me how far the bend he has gone in pursuit of revenge – what he calls balance.

i think it was definitely cortexiphan – and the fact that it light up is probably why he won’t believe her story about ‘not seeing anything’. Do we have any evidence that the ‘other side’ knows about cortexiphan? Assuming Bell is what he seems to be i don’t think he would have told Walternate about it.

I don’t think so. If Bolivia would have been treated with it shouldn’t her perception be better, she is not as fast in connecting things than Olivia. And I’m still confused on how much Bell and Walternate actually worked together. I think so too that Bell was more for Over here. So now the battle is on. Hopefully Olivia can come home before Walternate tries to figure out what’s in her brain.

I think it was cortexiphan too. Definitely, since it has been in her brain since she was a child!! Unless they have cortexiphan on that side, then no, I don’t think he will figure it out, since AU Bell and he didn’t ever get together to experiment, and our Bell claims he didn’t do anything like that with Walternate either.

SF, it doesn’t do to underestimate Walternate. I didn’t think he and Brandonate would succeed even remotely in forcing AltLiv’s memories on our Olivia, but they did. Now that they know where to look, I think they will investigate this and figure out what it is. They may even be successful in modifying it so it works on adults–since I doubt they’ll be patient enough to wait for children to grow up. The point of the tank experiement was to try and figure out how Olivia managed to cross over unharmed, and now they have a strong clue about what to look for.

I have to agree with you FinChase. While I do believe that Walternate and the other side don’t know about or have cortexiphan I wouldn’t go as far as to say Walternate won’t figure it out. I think we would have seen more of a reaction out of Walternate if he had known right away that it was corexiphan (or even what cortexiphan is) but that doesn’t mean he’s not going to be able to figure it out. Remember this is Walternate we’re talking about and as he said he’ll restore balance “whatever it takes”.

Fin and bdp, I think Walternate will figure out what the chemical in Olivia’s brain is! For sure! But I don’t think they have cortexiphan over there yet, or if they do, that it wasn’t used in the way Walter and Bell used it, for perception and on children. That’s what I meant, that I think Bell kept that from Walternate.

I’m very interested that Walternate noticed Olivia wasn’t suffering from crossing universes. This leads me to wonder if he is suffering from side-effects himself from his journey to our world and back? The same effects that Peter should be showing, and Walter, but aren’t? How can Walternate know Olivia isn’t suffering from the effects unless he’s seen the effects on a person. Yes, the Shapeshifters were invented in part so they could plant agents on our side and get them over the universe line without destroying them. I’m curious how Walternate thinks there are repercussions on living people, and what those effects are – how many people did he try to send over who blew up, like Bell said in Momentum Deferred usually happens? And why hasn’t Peter blown up? Maybe, if cortexiphan does exist in the AU (l still think Peter was treated with it after he crossed over, by Walternate), Walternate has been using it to help people recover from crossing over, without realizing that it’s the only way to cross over without ill-effects – he hasn’t figured out the full-extent of its use (if he knows about it).

SF, as we’ve discussed before, I think Peter and Walter, on this particular trip anyway, were protected somehow by the Cortexiphan circle, or the way in which the Cortexiphan kids can open a crack in the universe. Perhaps particularly, a crack opened by the strongest of the Cortexitots, Olivia.

I agree it would have been more interesting to see them all, including AltLivia, suffering ill effects, but I suspect it would get in the way of the story they were trying to tell.

I don’t think Walternate knows about Cortexiphan yet, but since he knows where to look now, I’m afraid it won’t take him long to figure things out.

Well, in all fairness, we were never told that Olivia is the ONLY one who can cross universes without ill effect; Bell said she is “one of a handful”. So it’s possible that the others include Walter, Walternate, and Peter, though that would be a bit of a stretch/coincidence.

So going back to the Amber. If it was the same substance used in S1 The Ghost Network, could those people have revived if they knew it was possible and where did it come from and the people using it did they come from the other side? Sorry, I’m rambling, there’s too much stuff in my head. Got to go and watch todays episode again.

Interesting question!!!! that would be neat, except I think we saw they were all kind of chopped out of the amber in Ghost Network, and presumably buried. I think the amber keeps them in some kind of suspended animation, but once they’re out, do they die if not revived? Geez, another image of being frozen/trapped, again.

I am having a lot of trouble with the whole amber thing. In Ghost Network, Walter said that the compound was aerosolized and then hardened within moments. And in this episode they are talking about people being alive but in suspended animation. My problem is that if you are surrounded by an aerosol you are going to breath it in and presumably the amber would solidify within your lungs making you basically toast after that. Yet, they chopped that guy out, pounded on his chest a couple of times and he revived. I guess they needed it to be contrived this way so that they could show the extent of Walternates desparation. But it totally bugs me!

Same here! I also had a hard time with connecting how this whole amber thing worked out as well. Here’s to hoping we’ll get some more answers on the subject. Oh and BTW, did anyone else think that the giant hole/tear in the universe, in the body of water on that program the team was reviewing was totally awesome. I kept being reminded of the word “wormholes” in the show’s intro! Very exciting!

Yeah, that bothered me the most about this ep. At the end of Season 2 they were spending the night with Olivia at her apartment, and we’d had no indication that they’d moved to Chicago–yet all of a sudden, Head/Peter KNOWS that they are living there? Since Head/Peter is Olivia’s subconscious, how the heck did (s)he know that? Or is Head/Peter the real Peter after all? It just feels like an enormous plot hole/handwave to me.

Maybe they were just visiting for a few days? Rachel was tying up some loose ends before moving permanently to Chicago. Wasn’t there a mention in “Brown Betty” that Rachel was in Chicago? So did she and her husband (Ella’s dad) reconcile?

Am I the only person who heard Peter mention NINA AND GINA? Or was that just some made up momentary contrivance? Or was it even Nina? I gasped out loud because Nina with a twin would be amazing, but who knows how that would work or why it would matter or what crazy parent would give their twins such matchy names.

No, I heard it too. It made me wonder though, this is Imaginary Peter. Was that a story he randomly told her once during their hours and hours of travel together or did her head make him make up that story? If he didn’t tell her IRL, then there’s no way she could know about it. Things that make you go Hmmm.

What a wonderful episode , I don’t think that Walternate did know that Olivia is lying .. i think he is thinking about what Branden did find in her brain .

And now … if they will the AltOlivia cover this call between Olivia and Ella .. am not going to buy it . simply they can track the call and finding from where the call where made … also .. Ella for sure will try to call her Olivia …..

I think this one was good, but it was the weakest of the season. The rapport between Charlie, Lincoln and “Altlivia” is still entertaining and I liked that Projection Peter gave Olivia useful information and reminded her of Ella and that she was the one Olivia called over here. The best part for me was the scene with Walternate and Altbroyles, finally I see some depth and emotion in Walternate’s character.

The case and the mOther were a bit disappointing, though. Now we know more about the amber, but I wish the story had been better executed.

Walternate knows now that Olivia has a drug in her system, that helps her crossing over. Will he be able to replicate a similar one for adults?

So basically this was a revisit to some things said in Season 1 Episode 10? Am i the only one that sees the connection from this episode? After a series of mysterious bank robberies, a suspect is found embedded into a wall, causing Walter to realize that they have not only found a way to literally walk through walls, but are looking for something he’s made in the past.

The callbacks to other episodes are among my favorite part of this show. Really. There were revisits to lots of previous episodes in this one:

“Safe” – -Like you said, walking through walls
“The Pilot” — tank time!
“Ghost Network” — amber
“More than One of Everything” — Twin Towers tragegy
“August” — Oct. 17, 1989 was significant to Walternate with the first amber, but on our side it was the SanFran Earthquake when August fell in love with the girl
“New Day in the Old Town” — Olivia’s breathless “I went somewhere!!”
“Night of Desirable Objects” — Olivia’s supersonic hearing
“The Box” — Walternate/Walter’s quoting Bell: “Only those who dare to go too far…”

I’m sure there are more. They should have named this show “Braid” instead of “Fringe” since they’ve woven so many fine ends into a wonderfully interconnected story.

Great links! I caught the link to “Safe”, “Night of Desirable Objects”, “The Ghost Network”, and all the tank episodes, of course, but I didn’t catch the others. I was wondering about that date of October 17th; I figured it had to be significant but I didn’t remember why.

I agree, good catches, fedorafedares. I caught some too, especially ‘Safe’ ,and all the tank shout-outs, and amber, and the twin towers…..basically didn’t get the Aug 17 pointer! I love how there are links to past episodes too – in a strange way, it shows how things in one universe are similar in the other. Maybe the amber in our universe is aerated, but in the AU you can be revived from. I didn’t catch why Olivia kept crossing to the gift shop until I saw the view, and realized she was in the gift shop in the Statue of Liberty in our world – she was crossing over, but staying in the same place. Good thing it wasn’t rock! that’s what I was afraid of, before, that on our side under the Statue of Liberty would be solid rock. I have to ask, “is it?”, since I’ve never been there….

If Walternate invented the amber substance then Walter had to have known. After all he already shown how scientists put their signature on the work they do (DRJ, Robert Bishop). It is safe to assume that both men use the same signature which would mean that Walter lied to Olivia and Peter.

I agree with #6 that this was the weakest episode of the season so far; while interesting, it just didn’t engage me on an emotional level the way the others have. The sense of urgency seemed to be lacking somehow.

On the other hand, Anna Torv was excellent as always, and we finally got more from Walternate than mustache-twirling villainy. Lots and lots of references to things that happened earlier in the series, and so much backstory–I assume the incident that caused Harvard Yard to be quarantined was when Walter and Bell brought the car back from the AU?

It seemed to me that what we’re seeing is a kind of hybrid of the two Olivias; Alt-Liv’s laid-back, fun loving side blended with Our-Liv’s determination to unearth the truth even if it means ignoring protocol. I got the sense from Lincoln and especially Broylenate that they weren’t used to their Olivia making connections and taking charge the way she did–Broyles, who is in on the deception, certainly looked concerned even though he clearly appreciated her saving the day.

And as I mentioned in my previous post, if it isn’t a plot hole you can drive a truck through, how did Head/Peter know Rachel and Ella had moved to Chicago? It seemed to me that (s)he knew a few things that Olivia wouldn’t necessarily be aware of, which makes me wonder if this is somehow the real Peter communicating subconsciously with Olivia.

Lots to think about–and lots of updates to the timeline! (Roco, when are you going to post my last set of updates? Hmm?)

“And as I mentioned in my previous post, if it isn’t a plot hole you can drive a truck through, how did Head/Peter know Rachel and Ella had moved to Chicago? It seemed to me that (s)he knew a few things that Olivia wouldn’t necessarily be aware of, which makes me wonder if this is somehow the real Peter communicating subconsciously with Olivia.”

That’s sort of what I was getting at in my post above, with his reference to the switching twins in high school. Is that something that really happened in his life and she happened to know about it, or did s/he make it up to illustrate the point, or…where did it come from?

Rachel and Ella being absent, and without very much reference even, has been glaring. I hope they have some great resolution for that in the works.

I agree the Rachel/Ella absence is glaring to us, but I’m willing to buy that Rachel remarried and moved to Chicago (I think there were references to her being out-of-town before) and I believe that Olivia’s family was just having a sleepover-type of visit before Olivia went Over There. Also, if only a week or two have passed since Peter’s return, it’s a stretch, but not an impossibility that Olivia and her sister haven’t connected.

Certainly the weakest of the Over There episodes, but I still prefer it to the Over Here shows (Hint: less Walter, more Olivia). Still, a whole hour about 2 pretty uninteresting guys and their amber switcheroo, with just a titch of the war-of-the-worlds story, was disappointing. After nearly a month off, it would have been nice to return with more of a bang (and I’m not talking about Peter and Altlivia making history between the sheets).

I think that Olivia knows Rachel and Ella are in Chicago, and therefore Subconscious Peter knows it too. If we look back they are already absent at the end of season 2, and we know that since the first season Rachel has been looking for an apartment. Maybe she went back to Chicago because of Ella (school, friends, father…), and the writers simply didn’t care to let the audience know

I was soooo looking forward to our Olivia coming back home and unmasking AltL. However given the fact that our Olivia is only starting to peep through AltL, if she in fact crosses over before she is FULLY Olivia the writers will have another heyday because it will NOT be readily apparent that she is our Olivia. And no doubt adding to the confusion will be the fact that she is now the one with the AU tattoo.

I don’t know if I’m remembering correctly, but shouldn’t Ella be turning 8? In Over There Part II I think, Olivia tells Alt-Livia that she has a niece, Ella who’s 7. But Head-Peter tells Olivia that Ella is turning 7 that day. Is that because Olivia is remembering things from the past? I don’t know how to explain it, but is it like Olivia’s memories are frozen in time, so she hasn’t made the connection that more time has gone by?

Wonderful performance of Anna Torv again.
I love the chemistry betweenn Olivia or Altlivia and Charlie and Lincoln. I was glad we did see the mother of Olivia over there again, would have liked the scene longer end mmore of them.
I do not like peter over There, and this episode it felt even more wrong. It is the subconsciousness of Our Olivia, her memories.
Altlivia just wanted to prove to herself that she was right about the twins.And she seems like a very capable agents on her own.
That Ella did the trick was great,only leaving the little girl worried about her aunt.
It looks like Olivia is going to do some mindgames with Walternate.

Hey, did anyone else pick up on the following quote from Lincoln Lee:
“Like Cary Grant said… “the stuff that dreams are made of.””
Apparently in the AU, Cary Grant played Sam Spade in “The Maltese Falcon” rather than Bogart.

Here’s the original which is from Shakespeare’s The Tempest:
“Prospero:
Our revels now are ended. These our actors,
As I foretold you, were all spirits, and
Are melted into air, into thin air:
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp’d tow’rs, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve,
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff
As dreams are made on; and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep.”
The Tempest Act 4, scene 1, 148–158
So what you think the writers are actually saying…… that the AU is the ‘insubstantial pageant’ which shall disolve, cloud-capped towers and all? Or … what?

What I love about this quote is that on the surface, it’s a cool Alt-Universe pop culture referene. Deeper, though, is a great tie-in to the overarching themes of Fringe: sleep, dreams and the somewhat faulty perception that what we see is “real” (think quantum physics, here.)

What we think of as concrete, unmoving objects are really atoms in constant motion. Nothing is really where it appears to be because of this microscopic movement and even things like color aren’t really “real,” they’re just our brains’ way of perceiving wavelenths.

Actually, I found your post quite interesting. You’re right; color, etc. is “just our brain’s way of perceiving wavelengths.” The more scientists study the subatomic particles of the atom, the more they realize that the “rules,” or the standards by which we have often judged “reality,” just don’t really apply. Subatomic particles can do some funky stuff. Cool. Being intrigued by thoughts like this is probably part of the reason why I’m a Fringe fan in the first place.

Oh, and how are things in Nerdville these days? Does Brandon live there?

Well It’s actully interesting when you search the meaning of this Shakespeare quote. And I found one that really fit with Fringe themes :

“Prospero is making an analogy between the spirits, who seem like illusions, to life itself.

The spirits can produce marvelous visions, but when they are done there is nothing left, and not even any sign that they ever were. Rather like a dream… something which can be fanciful or terrifying, but then you wake and it is gone.

Prospero is suggesting that human lives are no different; a sentiment echoed by Hamlet in another work of Shakespeare’s. The suggestion is the people live their lives and then are gone, leaving no appreciable mark and eventually not even a memory of their existance. And arguably this may be so – even if we do remember a few figures in history, there are billions more who get no mention; it’s even likely that many of the ones we think we remember have little resemblance to the actual figure.

The ‘sleep’ that rounds life is the sleep of death. An unending nap which gloomy Shakespeare characters often like to say awaits us all.”

BKlynBetty said: You are probably right – especially about the winning – i was just jarred by the triumph? when she revealed the DNA patch-reader whatever thing. Ourliv is such a sympathetic character and her portrayal of Altliv is also so much more sympathetic than (her Other portrayal of the) ‘real’ Altliv in ‘Our UNiverse’. And she did “win” – she proved herself right, even if she can’t tell anyone about it. That scene actually made me like her less than anything else she has done.

Re OurLiv Over There and if her DNA reader “triumph” over Matthew Rose mean-spirited—Perhaps this view is unduly harsh? Ourliv is urgently trying to prove her own sanity–to herself! She must know if she was right or not about which Rose brother survived.

And does anybody agree with this–perhaps Ourliv has now filed away Rose as a potential ally when she has to start fighting Walternate and her own colleagues–maybe, along with the taxi driver from the first episode, she’s looking for any homegrown opposition/dissenters she can find. She’s going to need help if she has to fight or run.

YES!!! she is back, well not back but I think finally Olivia came to accept that there is something wrong, awesome.

And talking about wrong, I’m so happy to be wrong about what I thought Olivia’s mom was going to do in the episode, I thought that she already knew and her appearence was going to be something to do with reporting to walternate or something bad, no, she is just a concerned mother, thank God.

And as many have thought before, i think Ella is going to make the discover since she might mention the conversation to somebody, named peter, and that couple with what somebody say on an interview, that they wouldn’t noticed the have the wrong olivia but that the will be tip off, I think this is it, and it’s chapter 5 already, if the switch is going to happen on episode 8 I think we are on time, i can’t wait for Olivia to come back.

I imagine the technology to rob banks has something to do with what we saw on “Safe”, I really hope so.

I love Lee, officialy I love him, that man loves olivia so much, what the hell is she doing with frank? I mean, frank most be a sweetheart or something but Lee, I hope we can keep him after Olivia comes back.

I really liked the episode, I think Broyoles is coming to see Olivia not as the enemy in her division, but as a person, a real one, this is going to be so interesting when the olivia’s are back on their sides, this definetly is going to come in how it has changed their perception, maybe there is hope for this universe after all.

So now we’ve seen the wall-dissolving bank robbing idea in both universes. Here, the motive wasn’t monetary gain but a Super Secret Clue; Over There it was monetary gain plain and simple. I’m finding the links between the use of Amber and the wall-dissolving trick (the differences and similarities) one of the most interesting aspects of this storyline. I don’t know if it means anything bigger, but I love it.